People's favourite current cinemas

With the sad demise of a lot of the old picture houses, big cinemas sometimes with an upper balcony, and the proliferation of multiplexes(which a lot the time seem quite soulless, never mind the fact that a lot of the time they show the same film on the other screens) - what are your current favourite cinemas?

Mine are :-

Odeon Leicester Square - Yep, a bit of an obvious choice, but it is an amazing cinema. Top notch screen and sound. The "Royal Circle"(aka the upper balcony level) is worth paying the extra for. One of the first UK cinemas to have digital projection. I saw "Signs" and "Finding Nemo" both digitally projected there.

Odeon Mezzanine - I like this cinema because it is a West End cinema that does show slightly older releases. Good if you want to catch up on stuff.

Empire Leicester Square - Screen 1 is massive. Superb quality sound and vision. Sadly, I missed out on viewing "Lawrence of Arabia" there. I do remember catching "Die Another Day" there on Screen 1. Amazing quality.

Odeon West End - I'll include this one as it still has a 70mm film projector. I saw "The Master" there. Perhaps a pity that it wasn't shown on a bigger screen, but still.

BFI IMAX - The screen is HUGE! Very intimidating. Great sound and vision. A proper IMAX screen. Plus, it can show IMAX film as well. Make sure you get seats at the back - or you'll be too close to the screen. Perhaps they could turn the sound down a bit in some of the effects-laden sequences of films.

Clapham Picturehouse - A nice little cinema with a bar. They do weekend family films.

Renoir - An arthouse cinema. Nice selection of programming. Good they can still project film - for those films that haven't been converted.

BFI Southbank - It is nice when they have a season on there.

The Granville Cinema(Ramsgate, Kent) - Quirky little place. Built into a cliff face. They have two screens. They are going digital. The main screen does have a small balcony.

The Empire Cinema(Sandwich, Kent) - I'll include this as it is in my hometown. A small place. I think they still project film. Has a lovely neon fašade as well. Bit cramped on the seating front.

Odeon Canterbury(Canterbury, Kent) - Yep, okay, it's Odeon again. They might be pricey(hey - what cinema isn't these days?), but they do provide top quality. Screen 1 is quite large. You can use get decent seating at a late notice. Screen 2 is quite - although I do find some the pillars a bit intrusive. Also some of the rear seats could be higher up in my opinion.

I love the Penistone Paramount. A really old movie theatre that I can't fathom how it stays open, but it's fantastic, has an old-fashioned intermission and loads of really lovely things to eat (none of those processed crap hot dogs you get at Cineworld).

I like multiplexes. In fact I'm quite pissed off, I recently moved house and all my local cinemas are mid range, not small enough to show indie films, and not big enough to have spare screens for indie films.

They don't sell gigantic containers of fizzy drinks and popcorn and they have proper ushers that stay in the theatre when the film's playing. You can also take a beer in with you and you get a much better class of punter; no chavs playing with mobile phones (or not very often).

Great selection of films as well with the emphasis on independent and art house pictures as opposed to the homogenous crap churned out by Hollywood these days.

Like the Watershed in Bristol (which I visited about ten years ago and absolutely loved), it leans very much towards the independants, but it also shows some quality blockbusters (Although you're unlikely to see the latest Transformers or Scary Movie), it has great late-night screenings of classics (they had Grease on last night), and you can take a beer in your screen from the bar (which does superb local organic ales!).

It's celebrating it's 35th birthday this week (but the building it's in is centuries old, making a unique viewing experience), and as you can see from this video it has some famous fans (plus the people from BBC Look East).

I love the Penistone Paramount. A really old movie theatre that I can't fathom how it stays open, but it's fantastic, has an old-fashioned intermission and loads of really lovely things to eat (none of those processed crap hot dogs you get at Cineworld).

Sounds like my fave cinema, it is so old fashioned, has an intermission, and licenced bar,a piano and a standard lamp on the stage! off there tomorrow to watch Ironman, they also provide cushions for you seats. The tickets come out of the bar , one of those old fashioned brass machines you work by hand.

Cineworld Crawley is a good multiplex. 15 screens and IMax. I saw Skyfall on the Imax screen on the day of release. Amazing experience. Mind you my nearest cineworld is Eastbourne, a six screen cinema badly in need of a refurbishment. So any larger multiplexes look good in comparison.

One of the things that I do miss, is cinemas with a MASSIVE(and I mean MASSIVE) screen. They are rare nowadays. For things like Lawrence of Arabia or Star Wars then they make all the difference.

I suppose this thread makes you realise that you probably should support the independent cinemas a bit more - if you want to view a wider selection of programming.

I know I might have been a bit critical of the multiplexes, but they do seem to show the same blockbusters on multiple screens. That being said, they have improved the experience quite a bit with having better facilities on hand(parking, sound quality, vision quality, etc.).

Of the ones I've been to, the Gate in Notting Hill Gate is my favourite. Beautiful auditorium, great picture and sound, friendly staff and neat little tables between the seats for your drinks (including wines and beers). And no stinky snacks.

The Soho Curzon is also a great venue. Not as nice a building as the Gate, but it's always buzzing with people who are interested in films and its location (a busy main street in central London) means it's not a hangout for noisy kids. Not that I believe noisy kids are always a bad thing in the cinema. If the film's good they will be good too. It's when the film's rubbish that they misbehave. The Curzon also does great, non-smelly snacks including the delicious Curly Whirly Brownie, which is like condensed chocolate and definitely deserves an 18 certificate.

Like the Watershed in Bristol (which I visited about ten years ago and absolutely loved), it leans very much towards the independants, but it also shows some quality blockbusters (Although you're unlikely to see the latest Transformers or Scary Movie), it has great late-night screenings of classics (they had Grease on last night), and you can take a beer in your screen from the bar (which does superb local organic ales!).

It's celebrating it's 35th birthday this week (but the building it's in is centuries old, making a unique viewing experience), and as you can see from this video it has some famous fans (plus the people from BBC Look East).

With the sad demise of a lot of the old picture houses, big cinemas sometimes with an upper balcony, and the proliferation of multiplexes(which a lot the time seem quite soulless, never mind the fact that a lot of the time they show the same film on the other screens) - what are your current favourite cinemas?

Mine are :-

Odeon Leicester Square - Yep, a bit of an obvious choice, but it is an amazing cinema. Top notch screen and sound. The "Royal Circle"(aka the upper balcony level) is worth paying the extra for. One of the first UK cinemas to have digital projection. I saw "Signs" and "Finding Nemo" both digitally projected there.

Odeon Mezzanine - I like this cinema because it is a West End cinema that does show slightly older releases. Good if you want to catch up on stuff.

Empire Leicester Square - Screen 1 is massive. Superb quality sound and vision. Sadly, I missed out on viewing "Lawrence of Arabia" there. I do remember catching "Die Another Day" there on Screen 1. Amazing quality.

Odeon West End - I'll include this one as it still has a 70mm film projector. I saw "The Master" there. Perhaps a pity that it wasn't shown on a bigger screen, but still.

BFI IMAX - The screen is HUGE! Very intimidating. Great sound and vision. A proper IMAX screen. Plus, it can show IMAX film as well. Make sure you get seats at the back - or you'll be too close to the screen. Perhaps they could turn the sound down a bit in some of the effects-laden sequences of films.

Clapham Picturehouse - A nice little cinema with a bar. They do weekend family films.

Renoir - An arthouse cinema. Nice selection of programming. Good they can still project film - for those films that haven't been converted.

BFI Southbank - It is nice when they have a season on there.

The Granville Cinema(Ramsgate, Kent) - Quirky little place. Built into a cliff face. They have two screens. They are going digital. The main screen does have a small balcony.

The Empire Cinema(Sandwich, Kent) - I'll include this as it is in my hometown. A small place. I think they still project film. Has a lovely neon fašade as well. Bit cramped on the seating front.

Odeon Canterbury(Canterbury, Kent) - Yep, okay, it's Odeon again. They might be pricey(hey - what cinema isn't these days?), but they do provide top quality. Screen 1 is quite large. You can use get decent seating at a late notice. Screen 2 is quite - although I do find some the pillars a bit intrusive. Also some of the rear seats could be higher up in my opinion.

The newer one opened in 1967 but was split into smaller screens in 1996. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1830/ I remember seeing Absolute Beginners on the big screen there in 1986 but wasn't particularly impressed with the film or the cinema.

The Birmingham Cineworld is rather nice and well maintained. It now has an IMAX Digital. Though it will never be as good as a 70mm film projected IMAX, it's still a step up to regular digital screenings.

I also like the Giant Screen cinema at the Millenium Point which I think is the biggest screen in the Midlands. It used to be a proper 15/70mm IMAX cinema and unfortunately they converted it to a regular digital cinema. I had to travel all the way down to London to see a proper IMAX print of The Dark Knight Rises. Now that BFI IMAX is the best cinema I've ever sat in

The Birmingham Cineworld is rather nice and well maintained. It now has an IMAX Digital. Though it will never be as good as a 70mm film projected IMAX, it's still a step up to regular digital screenings.

I also like the Giant Screen cinema at the Millenium Point which I think is the biggest screen in the Midlands. It used to be a proper 15/70mm IMAX cinema and unfortunately they converted it to a regular digital cinema. I had to travel all the way down to London to see a proper IMAX print of The Dark Knight Rises. Now that BFI IMAX is the best cinema I've ever sat in

I agree. The Cineworld in Birmingham is my local and I'm an unlimited premium member. Been going for a few years now and it's better than most around. Its very comfortable, clean and It never gets that crowded when I go either which is a bonus. The IMAX screen is a great addition too. More people seem to go to the AMC in Broadway Plaza but I find that uncomfortable.

I agree. The Cineworld in Birmingham is my local and I'm an unlimited premium member. Been going for a few years now and it's better than most around. Its very comfortable, clean and It never gets that crowded when I go either which is a bonus. The IMAX screen is a great addition too. More people seem to go to the AMC in Broadway Plaza but I find that uncomfortable.

I have to admit I've never been to the Broadway Plaza multiplex. Though I remember a friend telling me it's changed from AMC to Odeon now.

Ashford has the multiplex - but sadly it's out of the town centre! It's okay - I've been there to see "The Departed".

Folkestone has that "Silver Screen" cinema. I've never been. It does look quite nice. A nice cosy feel to it - from the pictures on the web. I think I have walked past its entrance on the high street in Folkestone. It does have a balcony as well. Adds to the novelty I suppose.